Match made: autism and a writing career

Do you love words, or have stories floating around in your head you long to write? Do you enjoy escaping into fantasy story worlds or flicking through journal articles on your special interest? Perhaps, you’ve imagined one day having a job as a writer. If words are one of your special interests, then a writing career might be a match-made choice. While the commonly held stereotype of an Autistic person may be of one who excels in Maths and Science, many of us actually do very well in creative endeavours, including writing.

I love writing for many reasons. Words flow more easily from my brain to my keyboard (or notebook)… but not so much from my brain to my mouth. My spoken words may be incomplete, tangled, rambling or sometimes disappear altogether. But writing gives me the time and space (and the delete key) to organise my thoughts clearly. I’ve been fortunate that my professional life as an author has been solid. Prior to that, my writing skills were valued in the fields of teaching and technical writing, then in editing as well. I attribute many of my abilities and successes as a writer to my neurodivergent skill set and I benefit from the lifestyle this career allows me to have, which supports my Autistic needs. Let’s take a look at some of the Autistic strengths that support my craft, the lifestyle advantages it brings me, and my top three tips to move towards your own writing dream.

Autistic Strengths for Writing, Beyond Creativity Alone

• Solitude: Whether writing fiction or non-fiction, you will spend long stretches of time alone with your thoughts. If like me, you love working independently and crave quiet spaces and solitude, being a writer is a great job to have.
• Sensory Processing: My neurodivergence offers me a different experience of the world (and in the world) and my heightened sensory processing means I can bring freshness to my details. One of the most common pieces of feedback I get from readers is about how much they love my descriptions and I know it’s due to my particular sensory sensitivities.
• Empathy: Many Autistic individuals have finely tuned empathy and pick up on (and can feel) others’ emotions. While I do appreciate that processing others’ emotions as well as my own can make life more challenging, it also means I can direct this sensitivity into my writing to explore real depth in my characters.
• Hyper focus. If writing is your special interest, hyper focus is your best friend. Granted, sometimes my ADHD twin has a difficult time settling down to start a writing task, but once I’m there I don’t want to leave. My job means I have to write hundreds or thousands of words in a single session to meet project deadlines, which makes hyper focus a true neurodivergent gift.

A Writing Career is A Lifestyle Gift

• Self-employment. One of the greatest joys for me as a writer (and one of the biggest motivators to dedicate myself to writing as a career), is the flexibility it offers. I work alone. I can choose my own hours, I can control how much I take on, I can work at home with my animals, or sitting in bed, or at cafes, or away on writing retreat in the mountains. I don’t have to take public transport to a fluorescent-lit office or make small talk in the lunchroom. These can be such important working accommodations for Autistic people and until we see greater uptake of this level of flexibility in workplaces, being self-employed might be the most comfortable choice for many Autistic people.
• Special Interests. The great thing about writing is that it opens doors to many fields. If you have a special interest (animals, race cars, trains, oceans, crocheting, music), you can dedicate your skills and time to it, writing about your favourite topics. You get the joy of spending time focusing on what you love and, hopefully, you can craft out a reliable income for yourself too.

Three Tips to Move You Towards a Writing Dream

• Join your state’s writers’ centre. The hardworking staff will be your biggest resource.
• Write about your special interests. Write what you want to read.
• Attend writing workshops for skill-building, enjoyment and connection with other writers.

Most importantly, follow your passion. When we have a fire for something, it isn’t easily extinguished. Harness it for good.

About Josephine Moon

Josephine Moon was born and raised in Brisbane, and had a false start in Environmental Science before completing a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and then a postgraduate degree in education. Twelve years and ten manuscripts later, her first novel The Tea Chest was picked up for publication and then shortlisted for an ABIA award. Her bestselling contemporary fiction is published internationally. She now lives on acreage in the beautiful Noosa hinterland with her husband and son, and a tribe of animals that seems to increase in size each year.

Her new book, The Wonderful Thing About Phoenix Rose, is out now. You can find her work at josephinemoon.com.